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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2003)
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I Block east of 8th and Garfield 225 B Main St. 1901 West 8th Ave., Eugene in Springfield 683-9430 747-4390 Fashion replaces rebellion as motive for body piercing More and more students are adopting the practice which originally came from ancient spiritual beliefs By Natasha Chilingerian Pulse Reporter After Dahvi Fischer got her labret pierced in her new college town, she decided to get creative in hiding the new piece of jewelry for her first visit home. She snapped on a "plug" — a flesh-colored plastic cover-up — over the stud emerging from the skin just below her lower lip. Unfortu nately, the plug failed to convince her parents. "When I stepped off the plane and my dad asked what it was, 1 said, 'Oh, it's just a zit,"' she said. "I ended up taking the jewelry out because I knew 1 couldn't pull it off." At the time, Fischer — who is now a junior at the University — was one of many 18-year-olds who experi mented with their skin while out of their parents' sight. Some profes sional piercers in Eugene say that every fall they get a new batch of stu dents asking to get pierced. "We definitely get new freshmen coming in every year," said piercer Dale McDonald, who works at Pri mal Body Piercing at 509 E. 13th Ave.. "It's part of being 18." Piercing remains a popular form of rebellion for more traditional folks, but other piercing trends are transforming. The difference is that now people are doing it to please themselves, not just to follow the latest fad. A more conservative crowd is turning once-obscure pierc ings mainstream. Now, piercings are simply casual ornaments worn by people from all walks of life. Body piercing traces back thou sands of years to tribal times, when it was practiced for spiritual rea sons. Some ancient tribes believed that demons could enter the body through the ear, so the metal was at tached in order to repel them. Tribes located in the Americas — such as the Aztecs and Mayans from Central America, for example — would pierce their tongues in order to altar consciousness and thus communicate with gods. Today, motives behind piercings often lack a deeper meaning. "(Piercings) beautify the body, and they increase sexuality and physical sensation," High Priestess Piercing employee Joshua Bryant said. "People get pierced nowadays mostly for the look. It isn't as shock ing as it was seven or eight years ago. When someone sticks out their pierced tongue, nobody cares. They just think it's cool." Since Britney Spears first pranced around onstage baring her belly ring, the navel has become the hot spot for women to get pierced. However, it's not anymore. Now, a piercing style on the nostril — once Lauren Wimer Photographer Jodie White, 19, is an art student who joined the throngs by getting her right nostril pierced. considered "punk-rock" — has been popping up on clean-cut women everywhere. "The nostril is the piercing that has changed the most over time," Fischer said. "It used to be grunge "I've had the mom, the dad, the kids and the grandma all come in to get pierced. Then I have to pierce these 97-year old earlobes. I've pierced one of Oregon's state legislators, people from the Eugene Police De partment, and Oregon's sheriff office, doctors, nurses and lawyers." Joshua Bryant High Priestess Piercing employee during the Nirvana phase, but now it's classy and cute." The nostril piercing originated in India during the 16th century, when women pierced their left nostrils be cause they believed it would lead to an easier childbirth and diminished menstrual pain. In the 1960s, hip pies who traveled to India brought the piercing back to the United States. Later, it became a symbol of rebellion during the punk move ment of the 1970s. Both McDonald and Bryant agreed that nostril pierc ings on non-punk girls are the latest piercing trend. Now, with a greater number of clean-cut individuals getting pierced, the line between "punk" and "cute" styles has blurred. Fischer said the presentation of the jewelry is what draws the line today. "When I'm wearing sweats and a bandanna, my piercings look really punk," she said. "It depends on what you're wearing. I think almost any piercing can be made to look cute. Except maybe the lip — that al ways looks punk." Bryant said he has experienced more than his share of customers from different genres, including con servative ones. "I've had the mom, the dad, the kids and the grandma all come in to get pierced," he said. "Then 1 have to pierce these 97-year-old earlobes. I've pierced one of Oregon's state legisla tors, people from the Eugene Police Department, and Oregon's sheriff of fice, doctors, nurses and lawyers. I've pierced everyone from crusty punks to the people who work at Taco Bell to the porn store people." Body piercing has made its mark on contemporary lifestyles, but the more daring body modification tech niques are still left to the die-hard fans. For example, McDonald has ex perimented with driving metal hooks into his back and hanging from ropes attached to a ceiling. He said it hurts less than one might think. "Getting the hooks in hurts, but once you're hanging from the rope, it feels like someone is just pulling the skin on your back," he said. "It's not a sharp pain that makes you cringe." Extreme body modification goes beyond hanging from the ceiling. On the wall inside Primal Body Piercing's studio is a photo of staff members, each with a knitting-nee dle size bar pierced through their cheeks — in through the cheek and into the mouth, and out through the other cheek. Other practices of body modification come close to self-mutilation, including tongue splitting, branding (burning away the skin to result in a permanent scar) and even amputation. People may have nothing left to experiment with on their bodies, but that doesn't mean body piercing will fade away. Although Bryant said the height of body piercing popularity has passed, he expects the trend to continue for years to come. "I think it will stick around and re main at a level popularity," he said. "People do it because it has that cut ting edge, but it's still beautiful." Contact the Pulse reporter at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com. IRFfiflN Hail Y FMFRAI n your in^e?en^-en<: student newspaper Oregon Daily Emerald P.O- Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Friday during the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University ot Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.The Emerald operates inde pendently of the University with of fices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private prop erty. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (541)346-5511 Editor in chief: Brad Schmidt Managing editor: Jan Tobias Montry Freelance editor: Aimee Rudin News editors: Jennifer Marie Bear, Ayisha Yahya Senior news reporters: A. Sho Ikeda, Ali Shaughnessy News reporters: Caron Alarab, Chelsea Duncan, Jared Paben, Chuck Slothower Pulse editor: Aaron Shakra Senior Pulse reporter: Ryan Nyburg Pulse reporter: Natasha Chilingerian Pulse columnists: Helen Schumacher, Carl Sundberg Sports editor: Hank Hager Senior sports reporter: Mindi Rice Sports reporters: Jon Roetman, Jesse Thomas Editorial editor: Travis Willse Columnists: Joseph Bechard, Jes sica Cole-Hodgkinson, Peter Hockaday, David Jagernauth Illustrators: Steve Baggs, Eric Layton OesiQn editor: Sean Hanson Senior designer: Kimberly Premore Designers: Tanyia Johnson, Kari Pinkerton Photo editor: Adam Amato Senior photographer: Danielle Hick ey Photographer: Lauren Wimer Part-time photographers: Tim Bobosky, Mark McCambridge Copy chiefs: Kim Chapman, Jennifer Sudick Copy editors: Gabri elle Barber, Rebekah Hearn, Ben Pepper, Brandi Smith, MacKen sey Thompson Online editor: Erik Bishoff Webmaster: Eric Layton BUSINESS — 346-5512 General manager: Judy Riedl Business manager: Kathy Carbone Receptionist: Sarah Go racke Distribution: Mike Chen, John Long, Matt O’Brien, Michael Sarnoff-Wood, Ben Swagerty ADVERTISING — DISPLAY 346-3712 CLASSIFIED 346-4343 Director: Melissa Gust Sales manager: Michelle Chan Special publications and classified manager: Hilary Mosher Sales representatives: Tim Bott, Army Feth, Patrick Gilligan, Megan Hamlin, Kim Humphries, Alex Hurliman, Tyler Mack, Shannon Rogers, Dan Sawaya, Katherine Vague Assistants: Liz Carson, Katy Cooney, Sabrina Gowette, Thomas Redditt, Keri Spangler, Kate Workman PRODUCTION — 346-4381 Manager: Michele Ross Production coordinator: Tara Sloan Designers: Jen Cramiett, Kristen Dicharry, Matt Graff, Andy Holland, Marissa Jones, Jonah Schrogin
